Stay Free Alberta's Mitch Sylvestre says UCP base angry at premier's pro-Canada stance. The leader of Alberta’s main separatist group is organizing to force either a leadership review of Premier Danielle Smith, or for her United Conservative Party to demand a different referendum question than the one she’s put forth, he told CBC News on Tuesday. Mitch Sylvestre, CEO of...
U.S. President Donald Trump's trade czar said there will be tariffs in place on Mexico and Canada even though the countries are part of a continental trade pact. United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Tuesday that most nations around the world have "begrudgingly" accepted tariffs are part of the Trump administration's ongoing policies and have been willing to continue...
The gas will be shipped from the Ksi Lisims project, a $10 billion floating export facility that has already received regulatory approval. Canada is set to announce a deal to supply Germany with liquefied natural gas from a planned export facility on the coast of British Columbia, according to people familiar with the matter. The gas will be shipped from...
Former environment and climate change minister Steven Guilbeault will resign as a member of Parliament, CTV News has learned. Guilbeault, who spoke to CTV News, says he will tell the Liberal caucus about his decision on Wednesday.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is urging Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to press pause on her fall separation referendum. Kinew, speaking directly to Smith at the annual meeting of western and northern premiers, said with all provinces signing and building megaprojects -- including an Alberta pipeline to the West Coast -- this isn't the time for such uncertainty.
The Liberals maintain a clear lead in federal voter preferences at 41.1%, ahead of the Conservatives at 32.7%, though the margin has narrowed to single digits, indicating a more competitive environment may be emerging. Other parties remain well behind, with the NDP at 12.6% and smaller shares for the Bloc, Greens and People’s Party. Public attention continues to centre on...
A long-simmering "what if" has become a reality in Alberta, with federalists and separatists now on a five-month clock to convince Albertans to either stay in Canada or "start a legal process" for a binding referendum on separation. The UCP government led by Premier Danielle Smith will put a 37-word question to Albertans in an Oct. 19 referendum. New data...
If 20% leave turns into 40% for Smith’s “maybe” option - Alberta will have avoided a near term crisis, but saddled itself with the image of a place that is unsettled and unpredictable. Most of the time, referendums result in people deciding to maintain the status quo. In 26 national referendums across 26 countries, questions about maintaining an existing policy...
The president of Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party says he believes that a majority of UCP members will vote against remaining in Canada in a referendum this fall, despite Premier Danielle Smith’s campaign in favour of Confederation. Rob Smith, who heads the UCP’s board of directors, said the party will not pick a side in the lead-up to the separation...
The federal government is putting new border measures in place to prevent Ebola cases from spreading to Canada, as the number of cases continues to rise in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan. Starting this week, people travelling from the affected regions will have to self-isolate for 21 days. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is...
Canada’s selection as home to the new Defence, Security and Resilience Bank affirms our country’s credibility with its allies and its leadership at a time when defence, security and economic resilience is critical. Nova Scotia was one of the first to raise our hand in support of Canada’s bid.
Outside Alberta, a political consensus is emerging — not just on how the Alberta referendum should turn out, but on whether it should be held at all. That in itself is remarkable, but it does risk driving some further wedges into the national-unity debate that this referendum has set in motion.
Prime Minister John A. Macdonald famously described dealing with provincial leaders as “herding cats.” He was right on the money: like cats, premiers will purr loudly to get what they want but ignore you when it suits them. Or worse, lure you in and scratch you when you least expect it. But MacDonald knew how to cajole them, humour them...
Canadians need to stare down the stark reality of what happened in Alberta this week. Premier Danielle Smith has moved her province closer to separation than it has ever been. This brewing national-unity crisis has not come about from the tyranny of the majority — it has been created by a minority wielding too much power for its size, and...
Premier Danielle Smith’s referendum question could get slammed to a halt by Ottawa. “This is a very dangerous bluff,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday, in a powerful put-down of Smith’s referendum question. That’s the quote everybody noticed. More consequential was his statement that Ottawa will review Smith’s two-pronged question to see if it conforms to the federal Clarity Act...
She affirmed she stands with Canada and will continue to do so all the way to the possible breakup of the country, which she opposes but is determinedly helping along
Mark Carney was asked Monday about his role in the forthcoming Alberta referendum campaign and the response was reassuring. The prime minister wasn’t exactly Henry V at Agincourt on St. Crispin’s Day, rallying his outnumbered troops in a call to arms. But he is a veteran of these campaigns from his time in the United Kingdom during the Brexit and...
We are living through a moment when our democracy, unity, and international engagement are once again being tested. In the last week alone, I’ve spoken at the Together/Ensemble conference in Calgary on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, followed by the Democratic Engagement Exchange dialogue on the state of Canada’s democratic health. The bad news is that our politics seems precarious...
Unless you had to go fill your gas tank after the long weekend — like this loser, right here — you could almost be forgiven for forgetting the war in the Middle East is still ongoing, sort of. Especially as the White House seems to be much more focused on us and its other neighbours. The Third Persian Gulf War...
News of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s unmistakable retreat on existing climate and environmental protections blew through town like an early spring thunderstorm last week. But, so far, it doesn’t appear to have done serious damage to his standing in the polls. To the climate, however? That is a different and more troubling question. And the answer is certainly ‘yes’. In...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has found a new way to avoid putting a direct question about leaving Canada on a referendum ballot this fall. Instead, Albertans will be asked to cast a ballot on whether they want to remain as a province of Canada or have the provincial government start the process toward a binding independence referendum. Here’s the precise...
In 1995, Jacques Parizeau, the then-premier of Québec, met with a group of foreign ambassadors in Ottawa and reportedly told them that, if Quebecers voted Yes in the upcoming sovereignty referendum, they would be trapped “like lobsters thrown into boiling water” with no way back. A diplomatic memo that included the colourful comment was leaked. An uproar ensued and cartoonists...
After a historic agreement between Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney, one that ended years of federal-provincial animosity and sent a clear signal to industry that Canada is open for business, 14 MPs appeared to choose ideology over nation building.
Canadians need to stare down the stark reality of what happened in Alberta this week. Premier Danielle Smith has moved her province closer to separation than it has ever been. This brewing national-unity crisis has not come about from the tyranny of the majority — it has been created by a minority wielding too much power for its size, and...
It is painful to reflect on this, but I think we are disserving ourselves if we do not recognize how absurd this country appears to many well-disposed and intelligent foreign onlookers. We are now seen as the most absurdly woke and politically correct (and therefore foolish) country in the world, and the country with the highest suicide rate in the...
There is nothing small about Alberta. It is a towering place, of mountain peaks and prairie sky. It is a powerhouse of energy and agriculture and business. Just for good measure, it also throws the country’s most famous party every July. So why, in such a bold place, is a Captain Canada MIA? I refer, of course, to how quiet...
Premier Danielle Smith appeared to be working many strategies at once with her complicated 37-word, referendum-to-hold-a-referendum question on Alberta’s future in Canada. One doesn’t put forth a vote with dueling options to remain a Canadian province or start a process to lead to a future binding independence vote, unless one is trying to juggle many tactical balls and clubs and...
So I guess we’re doing this, eh? I mean, of course Alberta is holding a secession referendum. It’s Alberta; the province that consistently exhibits the inverse of one of Paul Wells’ most-famed Rule of Politics. To wit: “1: For any given situation, Canadian politics will tend toward the least exciting possible outcome.”
The Political Pulse panel weighs in as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith asks Albertans to decide whether to stay in Canada, or start a process that could lead to the breakup of the country.
I wish there was a word in the English language for something at once deeply consequential and profoundly silly. I don’t know how else to describe what’s going on in Alberta right now. It’s a national unity crisis and it’s incredibly stupid. It would be funny if it wasn’t so serious — like a pratfall in a clown car driving...
You had to know this was coming. It didn’t take long. Not long at all, as in minutes. One big name in the Alberta independence movement is vein-popping pissed off. Jeff Rath has become to the go-to guy when newshounds want to take the temperature of the Alberta separatists. Right now, Rath’s political thermometer indicates a heat wave.
Surprise! We’ve got the Danielle Smith two-step. If your head is hurting by the time you read this column it’s not because you ate ice cream too fast. The early verdict is in on Thursday night. A lot of folks are confused. Some don’t even know how to react.
Federal law says House must vote on whether separation referendum question is clear. Prime Minister Mark Carney says the House of Commons won't be weighing in on Alberta's fall referendum question that could pave the way for a vote on the province's separation from Canada. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith pledged last week that her province would hold a referendum in...
The co-chair of the Liberal climate caucus told the National Post that he “absolutely” supports Prime Minister Mark Carney’s approach to climate change policy. Éric St-Pierre has been conspicuously avoiding interviews about the caucus that he co-created to bring climate change issues back to the forefront of the government’s agenda ever since he gave an interview to Radio-Canada revealing the...
The federal government’s expenditures on outsourced legal work have more than doubled since 2015, despite hundreds of vacant in-house counsel positions staying open over the last decade, new government data reveals. A Hill Times analysis of data disclosed by the Department of Justice shows that its spending on contracts for legal services from external counsels or “legal agents” increased from...
The Canadian Armed Forces is requiring members to disclose relationships of a personal nature with a subordinate. Military personnel must from now on proactively report to their superior any "emotional, romantic, sexual or family relationship" that involve people of different rank, seniority, position or experience. The directive covers both new and existing relations.
Conservatives say they'll push to amend the Liberals' controversial lawful access bill, which would force tech companies to adjust their systems to aid police and security investigations, amid fears the bill is encroaching on Canadians' privacy and putting cybersecurity at risk. "I think you can be sure that we're going to be putting forward some very strong amendments to limit...
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says while separatist agitation bubbles away in Alberta - and even in his own province -- his party stands with Confederation. "We support a strong and growing province of Saskatchewan with the united nation of Canada," Moe told reporters Monday. "(But) again, those frustrations shouldn't be discounted." Moe made the comments on the first day of...
Three days after the February mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., government officials warned Prime Minister Mark Carney that online sentiment was shifting from collective grief toward "emerging accountability narratives" -- including questions about mental health intervention, firearms access and whether warning signs were missed. The memo to Carney from the Privy Council Office said the overall public reaction was...
Prime minister promised to look into program that cost over $500K last year. The federal government says it's looking for ways to make an expense program for former governors general more transparent after almost 50 years of secrecy. The program allows the five active former governors general to each bill the government up to $206,040 per year, on top of...
British Columbia Premier David Eby says he's wondering why western Canadian premiers are meeting in Alberta to talk co-operation when the host premier wants to test separation. "To say that this is the worst time to begin testing the bonds that hold this country together is a significant understatement," he said. "It empowers the people who would break our country...
A W5 investigation into drug smuggling and baggage-tag tampering at Canada’s busiest airports is prompting Transport Canada to promise swift action to improve security. CTV News’ investigative unit found at least 17 passengers on flights departing Canada were accused of drug smuggling and detained over the past year, after their baggage tags were switched onto suitcases filled with drugs. All...
B.C. Conservative leadership candidate Kerry-Lynne Findlay called a press conference in front of the legislature on Monday to address allegations of election malfeasance during her last federal campaign — only to refuse all reporters’ questions before fleeing in a black SUV with tinted windows. “That’s the decision that was made, and that is all I have time for,” campaign spokesman...
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday the Alberta referendum on separation could be a "dangerous bluff," while Alberta Premier Danielle Smith cautioned this is a decision for Albertans to make, not the federal government. Carney, who was the governor of the Bank of England during and immediately after the Brexit referendum campaign, warned that people in the United Kingdom are...
By taking concrete action on key issues for Albertans, Prime Minister Mark Carney is trying to send a message that he wants the federation to work better for Alberta, says pollster Janet Brown. Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he and his MPs will campaign for Alberta to remain part of Canada. Among all the important roles Parliament plays in...
Former federal cabinet member Navdeep Bains has entered the Ontario Liberal leadership race. Bains worked as a science and industry minister in Justin Trudeau's government before leaving politics in 2021. He recently resigned as an executive from Rogers in order to explore a provincial Liberal leadership bid. Bains has released a 16-second video on social media that shows him walking...
A majority of the House of Commons voted against a non-binding motion calling on the federal government to take action to protect private property from First Nations land claims. The Conservatives introduced and voted for the motion, while the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois all voted against it. The issue stems from a 2025 B.C. Supreme Court ruling that confirmed...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government is reversing its decision to go to court to prevent the release of documents about its ill-fated blue licence plates. Lawyers for the government applied for a judicial review of decisions by Ontario's information and privacy commissioner ordering the province to release documents in response to a freedom-of-information request by The Canadian Press.
India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal says Prime Minister Mark Carney's recent visit to his country paved the way for a complete overhaul of the Canada-India relationship Goyal is in Canada for meetings on trade and investment this week, starting today with a discussion with Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu. Goyal says the relationship between Canada and India...
The number of Canadians who believe the country is heading in the right direction has hit its highest percentage since 2017, according to a new poll from Abacus Data. The poll published Sunday, which can't be assigned a margin of error because it was conducted online, said 47 per cent of people believe Canada is heading in the right direction...
The federal Liberal climate caucus will meet Monday night, amid reporting several of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s MPs are concerned he’s backsliding on environmental commitments, sources tell CTV News. Sources also say Canadian Climate Institute president Rick Smith will attend the meeting to speak with MPs. The meeting comes amid reporting from Radio-Canada that more than a dozen MPs sent...
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday the Alberta referendum on separation is a "dangerous bluff" if anyone thinks its results could be used as leverage in future negotiations. Carney said he saw those effects first-hand when he was the governor of the Bank of England after the Brexit vote. He warned that people in the United Kingdom are still trying...
Three-member panel finds no irregularities that affected race outcome. A complaint alleging voting irregularities during a tense Ontario Liberal nomination meeting in Scarborough has been dismissed by a party arbitration committee. Federal Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith launched the appeal earlier this month after narrowly losing the nomination in Scarborough-Southwest to entrepreneur Ahsanul Hafiz by 19 votes. Erskine-Smith levelled a series...
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has announced she'll be seeking re-election in this year's municipal election. Chow says she plans to continue focusing on her work as mayor right now, with "plenty of time for campaigning in the fall." The 69-year-old former NDP parliamentarian was elected in 2023 in a byelection after the resignation of former mayor John Tory.
PC MPP Caroline Mulroney will be resigning from Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet and will be vacating her seat in York-Simcoe, she said in a letter posted to social media. Mulroney, who serves as president of the Treasury Board and minister of Francophone Affairs, said she informed the premier on Sunday and will officially step down on Friday, June 5. “Serving...
U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra says tariffs are here to stay, and Canada needs to accept it. Pete Hoekstra does not mince words. A close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, the 72-year-old Republican politician has developed a reputation for speaking bluntly, especially when it comes to the Canada-U.S. relationship. When he welcomed Radio-Canada to the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa for...
The federal government’s pipeline deal with Alberta includes a cancellation fee that critics say is too low to ensure the province holds up its end of the bargain once the new oil infrastructure to the West Coast is built. The implementation agreement, released on May 15, sets out the conditions under which a new pipeline will be constructed. It stems...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government is going to court to try to prevent the release of documents about its ill-fated blue licence plates, a move that comes amid a broader clampdown on public access to government records. Lawyers for the government have applied for a judicial review of decisions by Ontario's information and privacy commissioner ordering the province to release...
The annual western premiers conference kicks off in Alberta today. Leaders of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories and the Yukon are to discuss business and their neighbouring relationships during the two-day conference in Kananaskis, west of Calgary. Nunavut Premier John Main has said he will participate virtually.
Prime Minister Mark Carney may have been the first Canadian to ever hoist the FIFA World Cup trophy — an honour typically reserved for tournament winners — as he welcomed FIFA president Gianni Infantino to Ottawa Sunday. Canada is preparing to co-host the 2026 edition of the World Cup tournament with the United States and Mexico. Carney said in his...
Premiers from Western Canada and the northern territories are set to gather in Alberta to discuss business, trade and their neighbouring relationships, all while the host province stews over a monumental question of quitting Confederation. The annual western premiers conference runs Monday and Tuesday in Kananaskis, west of Calgary. Sam Blackett, a spokesperson for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office, says...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Trump administration wants all current and future federal employees to sign non-disclosure agreements, part of a continuing crackdown on leaks to the media.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- President Donald Trump's push to reshape congressional districts ahead of the November elections suffered a double setback Tuesday, as South Carolina senators declined to do so and a federal court blocked a Republican-backed map in Alabama.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump had another medical exam on Tuesday, putting his health under renewed public scrutiny as he has worked to dismiss concerns over his age and stamina.
PLANO, Texas (AP) -- Texans are choosing a Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Tuesday's runoff election, bringing to a close the extended, bitter and expensive primary where President Donald Trump weighed in late to tip the race in another effort to rid the GOP of leaders he sees as less devoted to him.
India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal says Prime Minister Mark Carney's recent visit to his country paved the way for a complete overhaul of the Canada-India relationship Goyal is in Canada for meetings on trade and investment this week, starting today with a discussion with Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu. Goyal says the relationship between Canada and India...
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Canada in late May, Beijing announced Friday, marking his first trip here in a decade as both countries work to cement a new partnership struck in January after a bitter trade war and years of strained relations. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand plans to take Mr. Wang on a hike in nearby Gatineau...
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says she has received details from her officials in Turkey about the "appalling abuse" suffered by Canadians who were on board a flotilla trying to reach Gaza. She says the 12 Canadians on the Global Sumud Flotilla have now all arrived in Turkey and are receiving "urgent medical care." The Canadians were among 420 individuals...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is calling Israel's treatment of people aboard an intercepted flotilla "abominable" and "unacceptable," and says Ottawa is seeking assurances about the safety of Canadians involved.
China's embassy in Canada says a Canadian MP's visit to Taiwan crosses a "red line" at a time when Ottawa is attempting to rebuild its relationship with Beijing. Conservative MP Michael Chong is in Taiwan this week to meet with Taiwanese officials and assert Canadian sovereignty after China's ambassador to Canada warned MPs against travelling to Taiwan in an interview...
Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms began as something modest: a procedural protection meant to ensure that when the state interferes with “life, liberty, and security of the person,” it does so in accordance with the “principles of fundamental justice.” It was not, at least on paper, designed to place courts at the centre of sweeping...
The question that Alberta’s Premier, Danielle Smith, will ask Albertans on October 19 is the following:
By the end of next month, it is widely expected that the Government of Canada will make one of the most consequential military procurement decisions in modern Canadian history under the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP). The contract for the acquisition and in-service support of 12 new submarines to replace the aging Victoria-class fleet is estimated to cost approximately $8...
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
“Despite the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel which has resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries…Lebanon moved forward with the ban on antipersonnel landmines,” said the Ottawa-based group Mines Action Canada in a statement, celebrating the new addition.
Canada’s privacy laws are supposed to protect ordinary citizens from unwarranted intrusions into their personal lives. But they can also protect pedophiles. Dead pedophiles. Dead pedophiles from America.
If you want to sound wise these days, just blame the crazy state of the world on polarization. If you want to sound really wise, say that fighting polarization needs to be part of the political agenda and be sure to blame social media and Donald Trump (although not necessarily in that order) for the current chaos. Despite it being...
To be clear, both James Moore and Gerald Butts are die-hard hockey fans -- James for the Canucks, Gerry for the Habs. Like hockey fans across the country, they are following the Stanley Cup finals very closely -- does that make Montreal, Canada's team? Don't worry, we do move to more traditional Moore Butts territory -- the politics behind Alberta's...
Political tensions are rising in Alberta. Last week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the province will hold a referendum on whether to hold a subsequent referendum on secession from Canada. Division and debate has been stirred up between federalists and separatists. And those who want to leave argue that Alberta will be better off, more economically successful and have full...
As we inch closer to the July 1st CUSMA review deadline, there still aren’t any formal trade talks between Canada and the U.S. planned. The government says there are informal talks happening at different levels. Other recent developments aren’t great. U.S. officials have blasted a substantial hike in what big streamers have to pay into Canadian content, and they’ve suspended...
Donald Trump is not a good liar. Everyone knows when he lies, and it's not a good look. It's a Monday on The Bridge, and Dr. Janice Stein is here to give us her take on what is really happening.
